Garoppolo the lone bright spot in 23-6 loss to Redskins

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was impressive in his first NFL game, completing 8 of 12 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown in a 23-6 loss to the Washington Redskins in both teams preseason opener on Thursday.

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Posted Aug. 7, 2014 @ 7:21 pm

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was impressive in his first NFL game, completing 8 of 12 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown in a 23-6 loss to the Washington Redskins in both teams preseason opener on Thursday.

Ryan Mallett, starting in place of Tom Brady, was 5-for-12 for 55 yards in the first half. He was sacked once.

Washington took a 3-0 lead on a Kai Forbath 39-yard field goal. With 2:18 left in the quarter, Washington went ahead 10-0 when backup quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Aldrick Robinson.

New England's only scoring chance in the first half came late in the second quarter when Stephen Gostkowski's 54-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright.

Washington, which had 15 first downs in the first half, increased its lead to 13-0 on a Zach Hocker 27-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining.

Cousins replaced Robert Griffin III after the first series and was 9-for-13 for 103 yards and a touchdown.

Washington marched down the field on its first possession of the second half behind third string quarterback Colt McCoy. McCoy was 6-for-6 for 66 yards and a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ted Bolser.

The lone bright spot for the Patriots was the play of third string quarterback and second-round draft pick Garoppolo. Garoppolo played the entire second half and threw a 26-yard touchdown to Brian Tyms late in the fourth quarter.